So, you decided to raise chickens. You have your plan in place for acquiring some chicks, preparing the chick nursery, and building the chicken coop. When we started raising chickens, we did so with three objectives in mind: 1) to be more self-reliant, 2) help with the food budget, and 3) teach our sons some important life skills.
Nowadays, with all the things you hear and read about raising chickens, it seems like an expensive endeavor. You might actually be wondering if it’s just not a better idea to buy your eggs at the store. There are other reasons to raise chickens besides possible cost savings. There are health benefits…you know where your eggs came from. Farm fresh eggs taste better. Caring for chickens can be fun, they are quite animated and entertaining to watch. And raising chickens doesn’t have to be expensive if you don’t want it to be. Our first chicken coop was framed out of wood pallets that were free!
Feeding supplies for your chickens don’t need to be expensive either. You can opt for the bigger, more expensive feeders and waterers, or you can go a little more economical. Here is what I use. They may not be all cutesy, but they are functional, durable and within my budget.
First, a 5 gallon bucket or two with a lid that you can store chicken feed in. This will help to protect your feed from weather and rodent contamination. A bucket with lid will cost under $5.00.
A 3-quart plastic grain scoop. This makes it easy to measure, scoop out and dispense chicken feed into pans. These grain scoops are sturdy and will last years with normal use. A scoop will run about $4.00.
A 4-quart, shallow, galvanized feed pan. These work great for feeding chickens, rabbits, goats…just about any farm animal. They also are sturdy, durable and again, will last years. They are easy to fill with feed and easy to clean. They are large enough to allow several chickens to gather around and eat without picking on one another. I have several of these pans at different feeding stations to ensure all chickens, regardless of pecking order, get a chance to eat. These pans run about $3.00 to $3.50.
Next is an 8-quart bucket. This is perfect for carrying water to fill those water bowls. They are easier to handle and carry than a 5 gallon bucket filled with water and kids can handle them. They are a heavy plastic and can be used for more than just hauling water. They cost about $5.00.
The last thing is a rubber, heavy duty water bowl. I prefer rubber because it is easier to extract frozen water in the winter. You can turn them upside down and stomp on them to pop out an ice block and the bowl won’t break! The size you get will vary depending on how many chickens you have. A smaller 3-quart rubber dish will serve approximately 5 – 10 chickens and costs under $5.00. Instead of getting a bigger bowl, you might want to opt for two or more smaller bowls to serve your birds.
One final item that you might want to consider is a wood pallet, which hopefully you can find for free! I use several pallets out in my chicken run as feeding stations. I put their feed pans and water dishes on the pallets. This keeps the pans up off the ground and out of the dirt. It also gives my birds a chance to get up out of the mud and snow to eat during yucky weather.
These supplies can be found at your local feed store, (mine is Tractor Supply), and Walmart Super Center, or look for them online. Easy to find, easy to use and easy on the wallet!